Steam-engine reversing-gear.



I. R. SNYDER. STEAM ENGINE nEvERslNG GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I5. 1916- 1,252,190, Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

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N In IP WITNESSES I. R. SNYDER.

STEAM ENGINE REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I5 |916.

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STEAM ENGLNE REVERSING GEAR.

APPLICATIQN FILED AUG. 15| |916.

Patented Jan. 1, 1918.

WITNESSES i k1.. sgi

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`.recon RUSH SNYDER, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA. AssIGNoE To PERCY E. l DONNER, or PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

STEAM-ENGINE REvEEsING-GEAR.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Jaa. 1, tais.

A ppncatian inea August 15, 1916. serial No. 115,074.

T 0 all whom z't may concern:

-Be it known that I, JACOB RUSH SNYDER, a resident of Pittsburgh, inthe county ot' Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new' and useful Improvement in Steam Engine Reversing- Gears, of which the following is a speciication.

This invention is an improvement in reversing gear mechanism for steam engines and the like, and it relates more particularly to that type of such mechanism in which the means for moving the valve which controls the supply and exhaust of motive Huid to the reversing cylinder moves in a straight line.

One object ofv the present invention is to provide a mechanism of the character above described which can be applied to any type of locomotive. s'

A further object of the invention is t0 provide an arrangement in which the valve setting means can .be moved to thedesired position without moving the usual oscillating bar connecting the valve moving means with the reach rod, or the reach rod itself, thereby making it easy `for the engineer to set the valve mechanism to the desired position.

A further object of the invention is to provide mechanism of the character specified so arranged that the controlling valvu lar mechanism moves synchronously with the reach rod, and whereby, in the manipulation of the same, a substantially direct connection is formed between the operating handle and the valve.

A further object of the invention is to.

provide valve mechanism for devices of the kind specified so arranged that the exhaust from the reach rod locking cylinder is independent of the exhaust from the reversing cylinder, in order that the reach rod locking mechanism will not be liable to be intermittently applied by back pressure from the reversing cylinder.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed. e

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating one embodiment of the invention, Figure l is in part a side elevation and in part a cross section of the mechanism, the view of the. valve mechanism in the upper portion of the tgure being taken on the line .-l-l, Fig.

Q, and the reversing c vlinder being shown in longitudinal section; Fig. 2 is a plan view otl the valve mechanism. its locking and its operating means; Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical section through the valve mechanism and its operating means taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 2; Fig. I is a cross section ofthe reach rod locking mechanism 011 the line 1 4, Fig. l; Fig. 5 is aplan view of the valve seat; Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view through the rotary valve; and Figs. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are views of the valve seat in plan and the rotary valve in horizontal section showing various positions of the valve,-Fig. 7 showing the neutral position, Fig. 8 showing the lock releasing position, Fig.r 9 showing the same in position for applying pressure to one end of the reversing cylinder, and Fig. 10 showing the same in position to apply pressure to the opposite end of the reversing cylinder. l

yThe mechanism comprises a suitable Huid pressure motor 1 for operating the reach rod 2, a fiuid pressure'locking device 3 for locking said rod in dierent positions, valve mechanism I for controlling-the supply and exhaust-of Huid pressure to and from the motor and locking device, and operating means 5 for the valve mechanism.

The Huid pressure motor shown comprises a cylinder having a piston 6 therein connected by piston rod 7 to the cross head 8 to which the reversing rod 2 is attached, said reversing rod being connected to the usual link mechanism of the engine, not shown. IVhen the link mechanism is in neutral position, the piston 6 is stationed midway of the length of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. l, and to drive the engine forwardly the reach rod is moved toward the right, viewing Fig. vl, by admitting Huid pressure to the lefthand end of the cylinder 1, andto reverse the engine the reversing rod 2 is moved toward the left, Fig. l, by admitting fluid pressure into lthe right-hand end of cylinder 1. .E

.The locking device 3 comprises a member 9 engaging one side of the piston rod 7, and a pivoted clamping member l0 for gripping the opposite side of said rod. The pivoted member V10 is actuated to grip the rod b v means of a movable abutment. such as the diaphragm 11, in a small power cylinder 1Q. said abutment carrying a projection 11a contacting with the outer end of the member 10. Fluid pressure can be admitted to and exhausted from the cylinder 12 through pipe 13. 'hen pressure is admitted into said cylinder, the movable abutment 1l actu'ates the member l0 to grip the rod T and thus positively lock the latter in position. The meanspdescribed is positively actuated to lock the rod to firmly hold it imposition, but` the locking means nevertheless is frictional, that is, the clamping members engage. a smooth rod, and therefore permit the rod to be forcibly moved under abnormal conditions, without liability ot' breaking any of the parts as would be the case with toothed and similar mechanical locks. This locking means will positively lock the rod T in any position of the latter. and does not require the rod to be in a certain position with a notchv therein ora projectionthereon registering with complementary projectlons or notches on the locking means.

The valve mechanism for controlling the admission and release of' motivetiuid to and from the two endsof cylindery l and to and from the locking cylinder 12. as shown, is of the rotary type, the same comprising a valve seat 11 with a cooperating rotary valve 15, the lat-ter being maintained in engagementr with the valve seat by means` of spring 1G and also by the fluid pressure admitted into the chamber underneath said valve thro-ugh supply pipe 17, as shown in Fig. 3.

The. valve seat, shown i-n detail in Fig. 5, is provided with four ports and one cavity or recess, as follows: A port 1S to which is connected the pipe 13 leadingto the locking cylinder12, a port 19 connected by means of pipe 20 to the right-hand end of cylinder 1, a port 21 c onnected bymeans of pipe 22 to thel left-handend of cylinder 1, a port 23 forming the exhaust for the pressure from the rod locking cylinder 12. and the recessl or cavity 21 for supplying fluid pressure to the locking cylinder 12 as hereinafter explained. Said valve seat is provided with a central bore 25 through which extends the stem 26 of the rotary valve 15. and which stem is hollowfor provided with a central opening 27 which forms the exhaust port for both ends of the cylinder 1. Each of the 'pipes 13, 20 and 22, as well as supply pipe 17, is provided with a. section 2S of flexible tubing, of sutlicient length't'o permit movement of the valve body 4', for a purpose hereinafter appearing, Without destroying the with the ports 18 and 23 and cavity 2-1, for

controlling the .admission and exhaust of 'unlocking the reach rod.

fluid pressure to and from the locking cylinder 12; the projection 31 is provided with a of flu-id pressure to and from the left-hand.

end of cylinder 1.

This valve has tive functional or tive positions as follows:

l. Neutral position. shown in Fig. i'.

operathis position cavities 35 and 3S register .re--

spectively with ports 19 and 21 and hence both ends of cylinder 1 are exhausted. The lock exhaust port 23v is blank, cavity 33 uncovers port 1S, and the projection 32 is in such position that the cavity'20 connects the supply chamber underneath the rotary valve with cavity Consequently f luid pressure is maintained in the locking cylinder 12. This is the normal running position.

2. Lock releasing position, shown in Fig. S. This position is assumed by moving the valve slightly contraclock'wise from theposition shown in Fig. T. In this position the projection 32 has passed beyond the lefthand edge of cavity 20,` thus stopping the admission of fluid pressure to the locking cylinder 12. At the same time the rightha'nd leg of projection 33 has slightly uncovered the lock exhaust port 23` thus allowing the locking cylinder 12 to exhaust, and The projections 35 and 38 have moved to disconnect ports 19 and 21 from exhaust port 2T. but have not moved sufficiently far to uncover either of said ports 19 and 21 to the supplypreure.

Consequently. both ends of the cylinder are still without fluid pressure. This position is assumedupon the first movement of the rotary valve. so as to exhaust the locking cylinder slightly in advance of admitting pressure to either end of the cylinder.

3. This position is not illustrated. but is the same. as that shown in Fig. S. lt occurs upon rotation of the valve 15 in the opposite direction. to wit. clockwise. All of the connections are as shown in Fig. S. except that in this'case the left-hand leg of' cavity 33 has uncovered the lock exhaust port 23. while cavity 21 is entirely covered by the projection 32. In this position. as in that shown in Fig. 8. the locking cylinder 12 is exhausted. but without admitting pressure to either end of the cylinder 1.

i. Engine reversing position. shown in Fig. 9.v This position is reached from the pos1t1on shown 1n Fig. S by a still further movement of the rotary valve 15 in a contra- 1 clockwise direction. 'In this position the locking port 18 is still connected by cavity y 33 to lock-exhaust port 23, thus Amaintaining the locking cylinder 12 exhausted. The

.cavity 38 still maintains connection between "'romthe third position, not shown, by a connection between port'19 ,and the exhaust still further movement of thev valve in clocky .wise direction. 1n this position cavity 33 maintains the connection between lock port 18 and lock exhaust port 23, thus maintaining the locking cylinder exhausted... The cavity 35 in projection34 still maintains port A27, but projection 38 has uncovered port 21, thus permitting supply pressure to iow from underneath the lrotary valve through said port'21 and pipe 22 to the left-hand end of cylinder 1--thus moving the piston 6 therein, and with itv the reach rod '2, toward the right, and moving thelink mechanism to such` position as to cause `the engine t0 be driven' forwardly. It will thus be seen kthat-n normal or running position both ends of the cylinder 1 are exhausted to the atmosphere, whilethe locking cylinder 12.y isfsupplied with fluid pressure to lock the reach rod into position to which it has been moved; that'before Huid pressure is admitted to' either end of the. cylinder, the locking`.cylinder 12 is exhausted; that said locking cylinder remains exhausted 'whenever iiuid pressure is being admittedy t0 either end of' the cylinder 1;

that. when iiuid pressure isl admitted to one` endof the cylinder, the opposite end of the cylinder is connected to the atmosphere;l

and that the exhaust from theflocking cylinder 12 is through a port 23, independent of the exhaust portv 27 for the two ends of the reversing cylinder, as' a result of which the lock can not be intermittently applied by back pressure from the reversing cylinder.

The valve mechanismis supported by means of a stationary bracket 40 adapted to be mounted on the fire box or the side of a locomotive cab. rIhe valve fbody 4 is slidably mounted upon this bracket by being provided with a pair of projections 41 engaging in a groove or way 42 in bracket 40. Said valve body is caused to move with the reach rod 2, by being`connected to the cross head S by means of the reciprocating rod 43.

This bodily movement of the valve mechanism with the reach rod causes the valve mechanism tobe automatically returned to neutral position when the reach rod reaches the end of its movement in either direction, as will hereinafter appear.

rEhe operating means for the valve lmechanism comprises a handle attached to a bar 45 also slida-b'ly mountedinthe bracket ,40, as shown clearly in Fig. 3. The handle 44 has a latch 46 provided' with a toothed projection 47 which is normally held into engagement with a rack -bar 4S on the stationary bracket 40, by means of the spring 49.

rlfhellower face of sliding bar 45 is provided with a cam groove 50 with which cooperates a roller 51 carried by a reciprocating member 52 which latter is pivotally connected through member 53 to the crank arm 54 which is secured to the Stem 26 of rotary valve 15. The cam slot 5 0 is offset, as 'shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. so that when the sliding bar 45 is moved means of handle 44, the cam roller 51 follows said slot 50 and causes the reciprocating member 52 to be moved laterally or sidewise, and lthus through connecting member 53, and arm 54 rotates the valve 15 in one direction or the other, depending upon which direction the handle 44 and sliding bar 45 are moved. 1t will be observed that in normal position, Fig. 2, the rollerA 51 stands midway of the inclined portion of cam slot 50. so that` no matter in which direction the sliding bar 45 is moved, rotation of the valve 15 is affected.

The parts are so arranged that to drive the engine forwardly, the handle 44 is moved forwardly, that is, to the lright in Figs.- 1 and 2, this movement rotating the valve 15 clockwise and permitting fluid pressure to be admitted to the left-hand end of cylinder 1, whereas, to reverse the engine. the handle 44 is moved backwardly or to the left, thus rotating the valve 15 contra-clockwise and admitting, fluid pressure to the right-hand end of cylinder 1. Whenthe handle has V V been moved to the desired position, it is locked in that position by the locking tooth 47. .As the reversing rod moves, 1t carries\ with it bodily the entire valve mechanism, and since the slidingbar 45 is now stationary, the cam roller 51 travels along the cam slot 50. and when itr reaches theofsetportion of said cam groove, the member 52 is moved laterally or sidewise, and through the connecting member 53 and crank arm 54 i automatically moves the valve 15 to neutral position, sorthat as soon as the reach-rod has moved to the desired extent (determined by the position to which the handle 44 has been set.) the fluid pressure is immediately ex-v hausted from the reversing cylinder. and pressure is admitted to the locking cylinder 12. Consequently, the mechanism requires' no attention on the part of the engineer except to move the handle 14 to the desired position. either forwardly or backvvardly. All of the other 'operations take place automatically, without any manipulation at all on the part of the engineer. During the time thatiluid pressure is acting in the reversing cylinder, the lock is released, and at handle with the expenditure of very little foi-cc. it not being required to move either the reciprocating rod i3 or the reach rOd itself'. Consequently thel engineer need only to overcome the friction of the sliding bar 45 and of the rotarvvalve 15.

It will be understood that, the structure shown is merely an illustration of one form of the mechanism. and that other structures 'may bedevised which come vvithin thespiriti and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is z- 1. In valve reversing mechanism, a fluid pressure motor for operating a reversing rod. fluid pressure locking means for locking said rod. valve mechanism for controlling the supply of fluid to the motor and the locking means. means for operating theV valve so that-the locking means is unlocked and motive fluid is admitted to the motor to operate it. and connections between the valve mechanism and the reversing rod` for Inoving said mechanism bodily to thereby actuate it to exhaust the motive fluid from the motor and admit motive fluid to the locking means when the reversingr rod has traveled the desired extent. f

:2. In valve reversing mechanism. a fluid pressure motor for operating a reversing rod. fluid pressure locking means for locking said rod. valve mechanism for controlling the supply' of liuid tothe motor and the locking means, and a slidable bar having camming connections vvith the valve mechanism for operating it to unlock the locking means and admit motive Huid to themotor,

said vvalve, mechanism being slidably mounted and being connected to the reversing rod so that the valve mechanism is moved bodily with the reversing rod to cause the camming connections with the operating means to return the valve to neutral position as the reversing rod reaches the end of its movement to'thereby exhaust the motive fluid from the motor and admit motivel fluid to the locking y Il'leflIlS.

and the locking means,- and a slidably..

mounted bar having camming connections with the valve mechanism for operating it to unlock the locking means and admit motive fluid to the motor, said bar being mantlally operable and being provided with means for normally locking it in stationary position(` said valve mechanism being slidably mounted and being connected to the reversing rod so that the valve mechanism is moved bodily with. the reversing rod to cause the camming connections to actuate the valve to neutral position as the reversing rod reaches the end of its movement to thereby exhaust the vmotive fluid from the motor and admit motive fluid to the locking means.

l. In valve reversing mechanism, a fluid pressure motor for operating a :reversing rod, fluid pressure locking means for locking said rod, and valve mechanism for controlling the supplv of motive fluid to the motor and the locking means, said mecha-I nism being slidably mounted in a stationary bracket adapted to be attached to .an engine cab or fire box, a bar slidably mounted in said bracketl and provided with a handle havinga latch for normally locking the bar mechanismismoved bodily so that the actuating means returns the'valve to neutral position as the reversing rod reaches the end of itsmovement to thereby exhaust the motive fluid from the motor and admit motive flu-id to the locking means.

5. A povver reverse gear for locomotives including a reversing rod, a fluid pressure motor `for operating said rod, a fluid pressure-applied friction lock for locking the rod. valvular'mechanism for controlling the motive fluid to and fromthe motor and to and from the locking means, and arranged so that normally motive fluid 'is exhausted from' the motor and admitted to the lock to keep it. applied, means by which the valve may be manually operated to exhaust motive fluid from the lock and admit motive fluid to the motor to operate it, and connect-ions between the valvular mechanism and the reversing rod for moving the said mechanism bodily in synehronism with said rod to thereby actuate the valvular mechanism to exhaust motive fluid tothe motor and admit motive fluid to the locking means when the revrsing-rod has traveled the desired. ex ten f 6. A power reverse gear for locomotives including a reversing rod, a. fluid pressure moor for operating said rorL fluid pressure locking means for loeking the rod valvular nieelmnism or controlling lie suppl)` of motive fluid to and from the motor and the locking means and arranged so that normally motive uid is exhausted from the motor and the lock applied. means for manually operating the valve to unlock the lock and admit. mot-ive fluid to the motor to operate it, and connections between the valvular mechanism and the reversing rod to move said mechanism bodil);T to actimte it to exhaust the motive uid from the motor and lock'the rod when he reversing rod has traveled the desired extent.

ln testimony whereon. I have hereunto set my hand.

JCB RUSH SNYDER.

Witnees:

C. B. SANDmzsoN, SUE B. FRITZ, 

